Bird News from Tim Edelsten
From the Hannam bridge to the mouth of the Jungnang Stream (a stretch of about 1.7km) there were massed 14800Common Pochard and 4600 Tufted Duck. Unfortunately they were flushed by an speedboat, although the sound and sight of thousands of wildfowl taking flight was quite something. While counting I also noticed the pureFerruginous Duck, three Greater Scaup and 32 Smew.
Best for the day of course, good but distant views of the apparently pure drake Baer’s Pochard, which displayed to surrounding ducks by suddenly flexing its neck and repeatedly arching it backwards, like a bow being drawn.
Also of interest, three hybrids, including the male Baer’s Pochard X Ferruginous Duck and Ferruginous Duck X Common Pochard that I photographed on January 27th. The third, a presumed Common Pochard X Ferruginous Duck, featured a cinnamon-red head and breast, resembling an individual photographed here back in 2008.
